Filling finger for narrow web loom



C. F. LEBBY June 33, 3967 FILLING FINGER FOR NARROW WEB LOOM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 27, 1965 A 7 7279/1/15" VS J1me W57 (5. F. LIBBY FILLING FINGER FOR NARROW WEB 100M 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 27, 1965 R mm NB Wu F L R A C United States Patent 3,324,896 FILLING FINGER FOR NARROW WEB LOOM Carl F. Libby, Stoughton, Mass., assignor to John D.

Riordan, Hopkinton, and Gertrude C. Libby, Stoughton, Mass, trustees of the Libby family trust Filed Sept. 27, 1965, Ser. No. 490,452 1 Claim. (Cl. 139124) This invention relates to an improved finger for thrusting successive loops of filling through the warp shed on a narrow Web loom such as is described and illustrated in my copending application Ser. No. 308,596, filed Sept. 12, 1963, for Narrow Web Loom, pursuant to which application Letters Patent No. 3,237,652 were granted on Mar. 1, 1966. This loom is designed to weave webs of the order of six inches or so in width at high speeds. The filling finger projects successive loops of filling to the other side of the shed where a knitting needle is provided to catch the end of each loop from the finger and to knit it through the previously caught loop of filling so as to form a selvage on the web. When the loom is operated at high speeds, the motions of the finger and needle are very rapid and a certain amount of vibration of the machine and of the needle itself is unavoidable. To guard against imperfect coaction between the finger and needle under such circumstances, the finger is constructed as hereinafter described and illustrated on the drawings, of which FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the finger and a filling deflector which cooperates with it;

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the finger;

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the finger at the end of a stroke through the warp shed, together with the knitting needle that catches the loop of filling;

FIGURE 4 is an end view of the finger as it is being retracted in the shed, together with a deflector and the crank wheel by which the deflector is actuated;

FIGURE 5 shows the relation of the finger and deflector when the finger has been fully retracted from the shed;

FIGURE 6 shows the finger starting forward, and the deflector moving downward to guide the filling yarn across the advancing end of the finger and to get out of the path of the finger; and

FIGURE 7 shows the relative positions of the finger and deflector when the finger is at the end of its stroke through the shed.

The finger 10, the deflector 12 and the knitting needle 14 are driven from a common power source (not shown) and operate in timed relation.

The finger consists of a rigid tube 16 of a lightweight synthetic resin such as Lucite the leading end of which is overlapped by and removably secured to a tubular head 18 of thin metal the outer surface of which is flush with that of the tube 16 so as to present a smooth surface to the warp yarns which form the shed. This head 18 projects beyond the end of the tube 16 and is shaped to carry the end of the filling loop through the shed S and to present it to a knitting needle 14 at the further side of the shed. For this purpose the leading end of the head 18 is beveled as at 20 except for a tongue 22 which projects beyond the plane of the bevel in the direction of motion of the finger from the lower portion of the head. A recess 24 in the front wall of the head extends toward the left on one side of the tongue 22 and another recess 26 extends toward the left on the other side of the tongue,

3,324,896 Patented June 13, 1967 as shown in FIGURE 2. Above the recess 24 are two small guide holes 26, 27 or an equivalent, to guide the filling yarn F coming through the tube 16 from the far end so that it leaves the interior of the head 18 through the hole 26 at the top thereof and reenters through the hole 27 almost directly over the inner end of the recess 25. The tubular finger prevents any possible contact of the filling therein with any of the warp yarns. At the inlet end of the finger is a smooth annular guide element 28 with rounded surfaces for the filling yarn. The finger 10 is supported by a clamp 29 by which it is gripped near its trailing end. This facilitates axial and rotational ad justments of the finger. The clamp is part of mechanism (not shown) by which the finger is moved back and forth in the direction of its longitudinal axis to carry a loop of the filling yarn through the warp shed S and then to withdraw for a change of shed. When the finger starts on a stroke through the warp shed, it is necessary that the filling yarn F extend from the hole 27 vertically downward behind the tongue 22 so as to be in a position to be caught reliably by the knitting needle at the further side of the shed as the finger finishes its stroke through the shed, the recess 24 being arranged to receive the needle without the finger touching it.

For this purpose the deflector 12 is arranged to cooperate with the finger as indicated in FIGURES 4 to 7 of the drawings. The deflector consists of a short paddle 30 from a corner of which a claw 32 projects downward. The paddle is adjustably secured to the end of a bar 34 the other end of which is on a crank pin 36. The crank pin is on a crank-wheel 38 which rotates about its axis in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURES 4 to 7. The bar 34 is rockable about a fixed pivot pin 40 which engages in a slot 42 in the bar 34.

Four successive positions of the deflector in a cycle are shown in FIGURES 4 to 7. In FIGURE 4 the finger 10 is moving away from the observer as it is being retracted from the warp shed S. The deflector is in its extreme position to the left and is moving upward. In FIGURE 5, the finger 10 is fully retracted and the deflector 12 has been raised as high as it will go so that the filling yarn F is below the paddle 30 and leads from the fell of the fabric around the claw 32 to the guide hole 27, as indicated in FIGURE 1. At this moment the deflector is moving rapidly toward the right and is about to move downward. FIGURE 6 shows the deflector in its extreme position to the right and in the middle of its downward movement as the finger 10 is starting on its stroke into the shed. At this moment the filling yarn F is depressed by the paddle 30 so that it extends down from the guide hole 27 to the claw 32 which is then to the right of the tongue 22. The deflector continues its downward movement to get out of the path of the advancing finger 10 which catches the yarn in the recess 25 and moves it into the shed, clear of the deflector. The yarn between the guide hole 27 and the tongue 22 is in a vertical position, ready to be caught reliably by the knitting needle 14 and drawn through the loop then on the shank of the needle.

I claim:

A finger for carrying loops of filling yarn through a warp shed on a high-speed loom, said finger comprising an elongated rigid tube of a light-weight synthetic resin, 21 short tubular head of thin metal overlapping the leading end of said tube, the outer surface of said head being flush with that of the tube, the leading end of said head 3 4 being beveled, said head having a tongue projecting for- 2,180,832 11/1939 Libby 139124.1 ward from the lower part thereof beyond the plane of 2,980,146 4/1961 ONeill 139124.l the bevel, said head also having a yarn guide in the up- 3,122,173 2/ 1964 ONeill 139124.l per part thereof above the tongue, an annular yarn guide 3,237,652 3/ 1966 Libby 139-124.1

within the trailing end of said tube, and a supporting 5 clamp adjustably secured to said tube near its trailing end.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

988,589 4/1911 Nauen 139123 10 1 2 1 053 10 191 Mon-is 9 23 KEECHL Assistant Exammer- FOREIGN PATENTS 18,084 1888 Great Britain. 

